Archive By Section - High schools

When Flowery Branch High senior Cody Ackerman made a request last month to Falcons coach Jimmy Lawler asking for a chance at his first career start on the mound, he couldn't have possibly imagined how timely it was.

FLOWERY BRANCH - Flowery Branch High athletic director Shannon Benton was looking for a girls basketball coach that would instill a hard-nosed work ethic to the program. He feels like he found the right candidate in former assistant coach Hazel Hall, who was announced as the new Lady Falcons coach on Wednesday.

GAINESVILLE - North Hall's Josh Haymore didn't mind being moved out of the lead-off position midway through the season, but since his reinsertion to the top of the lineup, the senior center fielder has been on a roll.

Korentheus Bailey will finally be able to exhale when he leaves his home in Lula on May 31 to attend Western Kentucky University on a football scholarship. Only then will this former standout for the East Hall High football team be able to put the struggles he's endured in the past year to rest.

Articles by Section - High schools

Bailey Whtlock had two hits and drove in a run for Lakeview Academy in an 11-1 win against Johnson on Monday in Gainesville. Rob Hamby, Rob Collison and J.D. Roark also drove in runs with a hit for the Lions. On Wednesday, Lakeview Academy hosts West Hall at 4:30 p.m.

With a 10-point lead after one quarter of play, the Dawson County girls cruised to a 71-40 win in the second round of the Class AAA state tournament on Saturday in Dawsonville. With the win, the top-ranked Lady Tigers (29-0) advance to the state quarterfinals to face Laney this week. Game time and location will be determined by a coin flip.

Everything started on the perimeter for East Hall. By game's end, the Vikings made plays all over the court in a 95-62 second-round Class AAA playoff victory against visiting Peach County on Saturday night.

EVANS - The ball was in the right hands for Gainesville in the final seconds of Friday's second-round playoff game against Greenbrier. Sophomore Taylor Hawks took the pass from Shikiya Brown, looked both ways and just before time expired drained a finger-roll shot in the lane to secure the upset win of the second-ranked Lady Wolfpack in Evans.

Gainesville junior D'Marcus Simonds scored 33 points and knocked down a game-winning shot at the buzzer in overtime for a 56-54 win against North Atlanta in the opening round of the Class AAAAA state tournament on Thursday.

Chestatee allowed five quick points by Pickens' Haley Kalson in the final minute of the first half Thursday to open the postseason in Gainesville. It didn't appear to be too much to overcome at the time, trailing by only three at intermission.